Kfc-History At A Glance

KFC-History at a Glance

9/9/1890

Harland Sanders is born just outside Henryville, Indiana.

1900-1924

Harland Sanders holds a variety of jobs including: farm hand, streetcar conductor, army private in Cuba, blacksmith's helper, railyard fireman, insurance salesman, tire salesman and service station operator for Standard Oil.

1930

In the midst of the depression, Harland Sanders opens his first restaurant in the small front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders serves as station operator, chief cook and cashier and names the dining area "Sanders Court & CafÐ"©."

1936

Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon makes Harland Sanders an honorary Kentucky Colonel in recognition of his contributions to the state's cuisine.

1937

The Sanders Court & CafÐ"© adds a motel and expands the restaurant to 142 seats.

1939

The Sanders Court & CafÐ"© is first listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in Good Eating."

Fire destroys The Sanders Court & CafÐ"©, but it is rebuilt and reopened.

The pressure cooker is introduced. Soon thereafter Colonel Sanders begins using it to fry his chicken to give customers fresh chicken, faster.

1940

Birthdate of the Original Recipe

1949

Sanders marries Claudia Price.

1952

The Colonel begins actively franchising his chicken business by traveling from town to town and cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and employees.

The Colonel awards Pete Harman of Salt Lake City with the first KFC franchise. A handshake agreement stipulates a payment of a nickel to Sanders for each chicken sold.

1955

An interstate highway is built to bypass Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders sells the service station on the same day that he receives his first social security check for $105. After paying debts owed, he is virtually broke. He decides to go on the road to sell his Secret Recipe to restaurants.

1957

Kentucky Fried Chicken first sold in buckets

1960

The Colonel's hard work on the road begins to pay off and there are 190 KFC franchisees and 400 franchise units in the U.S. and Canada.

1964

Kentucky Fried Chicken has more than 600 franchised outlets in the United States, Canada and the first overseas outlet, in England.

Sanders sells his interest in the U.S. company for $2 million to a group of investors headed by John Y. Brown Jr., future governor of Kentucky. The Colonel remains a public spokesman for the company.

1965

Colonel Sanders receives the Horatio Alger Award from the American Schools and Colleges Association.

1966

The Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation goes public.

1969